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The Really Great Big Police Debate

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Theland | 10:11 Sat 12th Jan 2008 | Society & Culture
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Pros and cons - medals or custard pies - their fault or ours - political correctness? - or not? - boss coppers or politicians to blame? - or not?
Serious scary experiences - felt let down - praise for our boys in blue - what a terrible job - hands tied - let down by the courts - like them or hate them - paperwork and bureaucracy - heros - Dixon of Dock Green - Sweeney - Mars - Thin Blue Line - Victim of crime? - Criminal? - Witness? - Policeman? - Know a Policeman? - Anything else?
Yes, it is time that we ABers made a difference to the whole question of policing, so I ask you all sincerely for your serious and thoughtful comments on our Police.
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Hi Theland,
You and I are much of a same age, so you remember Bobbies on bikes, respect for the police, which in those days, was the best force in the world.

Sadly, all that has gone, they walk about with their coats undone, sometimes no hats, (in my area anyway), and if they do make an appearance, (our Police station closed down a couple of years ago), its just a fleeting visit in cars.

I watched at our local railway station a bloke getting arrested, car at the side, two policemen, the chap getting arrested offered no resistance, they got him on the ground, banged his head on the pavement, and arrested him with the words, 'your nicked', thought I was watching Starsky and Hutch.

My car was broken into, a lot of damage done, and all I got was a crime number. nothing else was done.

Yes, they can still do a good job, but in the main, i'm afraid i've lost most of the respect I used to have for them, and I would take a bet I'm not alone.
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My brother , a time served policeman who joined in 1956 has no respect for them either.
He says that by the time he retired they were having to fill out a form in triplicate to go for a pee and being told what to do by people who were fast tracked through the ranks and had no idea of how to handle the public at large.The job became a form filling nightmare .
In his day they were on the streets,talking to and getting to know people and nipping crime in the bud,walking a beat .making sure people and property were safe ..he would walk a drunk home rather than arrest them.It's a small town here and he was well known and respected locally and that's the nub of it ...not enough policemen on the streets.
These days he is loathe to tell people he used to be a policeman .
And ...they all look so young these days :))
I think we'd miss them if they weren't around.

There are no doubt some unprofessional/knob headed ones but you get that in any profession in my expereince and they do get found out. Plus these guys are in the public eye so it's more noticed.

And it's unfair to blame police officers for burocracy, you wouldn't blame a nurse for the same thing, you'd think they were vitims of it. That's the fault of goverment legislation usually.

On the whole I think they do a demanding job in difficult circumstances.
They also look pretty tasty in uniform, but that is a side issue :D
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And the handcuffs ;c)

(Please don't tell naomi I said that ^^^)
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all sorts of uniform is nice, maybe its because they look neat and tidy? like they made the effort to look smart?!

Where I live we have a lot of "community police" officers, but its much better than where I used to live which was lawless.
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I am disgusted that there are so many individual policemen that bend or break the law themselves, and give the majority a bad name.
I can't understand that although we have more of them than ever before, they are invisible. As a youngster, the ubiquitous copper standing in a shop doorway, certainly kept me on the straight and narrow.
My experiences with the police over the years have left me feeling totally disillusioned.
i thinkthe police do a fantastic job. as apose to other countries police men. atleast this country you can put your faith in them others for example brazil you don�t know which one�s want tohelp you and which one��s are corrupt. i don�t think they are given enough credit for the hard work and bravery they put into the job.
It's the old impossible-to-solve quandary.

Anyone who wants to be a police officer should immediately be barred from becoming one. The desire for power marks them out as being unsuitable.

And the same rule applies to MPs.
Quin... with the best will in the world I think your arguments a bit on the rubbish side. BY that same logic doctors do the job they do because they want the power (to play God). Now no doubt some police officers and doctors do crave a certain kind of power but some might just do the job because they want to help, because they want to be useful.

I've thought about being a police officer in the past, not because of a deep wish for power (far too many complaints if you want to own the world) but because my own experience and inclinations lean towards trying to do something useful rather than chasing the money.
Well, in terms of recruitment it wouldn't be workable for one thing. Clearly, I was being (semi-)facetious.

But as honourable as your intentions sound, I stand by the suggestion that most (not all!) wannabe police officers get off on the idea of wielding the power that the long arm of the law gives. Or they consider themselves heroic deliverers of justice - with the hectoring sense of self-importance that comes with that.

Certainly the ones in my experience do.

You could equally say that there are a fair few politicans that merely want to make the world a better place. There's a scary number though that either want the kudos politics brings or believe themselves best suited to be our leaders.
I understand what you mean and even the logic behind it.... but even I struggle to be that cynical I'm afraid.

I think most people have good intentions and that the minority are the bad apples so to speak.

(Did get the semi-facestious bit).

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